The Annual Export Awards, conducted by the National Chamber of Exporters of Sri Lanka (NCE), is the most glamorous and looked forward to event in the Business Calendar of Sri Lanka. The NCE which is the only Chamber exclusively serving Sri Lankan Exporters and the "Voice of Exporters" has been conducting this event since 1993 without a break. It recognizes and rewards export excellence of Sri Lankan Exporters, who make an indispensable and vital contribution for the sustenance of the economy. The event is therefore one of the signal contributions made by the Chamber to the Export Development effort of Sri Lanka.

A noteworthy feature of the Awards Scheme of the Chamber is its refinement over the years with the inclusion of several value added features, to become the benchmark for awards schemes in Sri Lanka.

With the opening of the doors of the scheme a couple of years ago to non-member exporters as well, the number of applicants vying for awards, has shown a marked increase. This year the Chamber received around 140 applications.

Award winners are selected from each of the three undernoted major areas;

01. Export of Products

02. Export of Business and Professional Services and

03. Suppliers and Service Providers to Exporters

Enterprises which are selected for awards are sub divided into Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large categories to ensure a level playing field for enterprises by comparing the achievements of enterprises of similar size. Thereby the scheme specially recognizes the achievements of small enterprises which are otherwise unable to compete with large enterprises for awards.

The Export of Products which has been the main area recognized from the inception of the scheme has undergone several refinements to recognize the contribution made to national exports by emerging new product sub sectors such as manufactured jewellery and processed food products.

The Export of Business and Professional Services area gives special recognition to the export of Financial, Educational, Medical and Legal Services, Consultancy Services, Ship Repair Services, Development and Export of Software and IT related Services, Services provided by Call Centres and Employment Agencies, etc. as it has potential to develop into a major export area as in the case of the apparel sector which has developed to comprise almost 50% of Sri Lankan exports over the last two decades.

The other area given recognition under the scheme, viz. Suppliers and Service Providers to Exporters, comprises of Freight Forwarders, Couriers, Telecommunication Services, Insurance Services, Advertising Services, Suppliers of certain Business and Professional Services, as well as suppliers of intermediate products such as Packaging, Accessories, Components, etc. and Suppliers of Finished Goods, makes a substantial contribution to facilitate direct exports.

Applications for awards are evaluated by an eminent panel of judges drawn from senior officials of relevant state sector organizations and private sector professional bodies. The panel of judges comprised 08 members headed by Dr. Saman Kelegama, Executive Director of the Institute of Policy Studies.

The judges follow a strict set of evaluation criteria. These comprise overall net export turnover of the relevant products and services and export growth, product and market diversification, export by principal markets, and new products introduced as well as new markets captured during the year under evaluation. Special recognition is given to the introduction and export of Sri Lankan brands and value addition to local raw materials. Special certificates obtained by export enterprises such as HACCP/ISO 22000, Certificates for Organic Products are also given recognition. Success factors and significant business achievements which are given recognition includes achievements arising out of participation in overseas trade events, R&D efforts, safety measures within the enterprise, improvements in productivity, measures adopted for environmental protection, local and international awards won by an enterprise etc. Employee benefits provided by an enterprise through welfare schemes are also recognised. The contribution made by an enterprise related to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is also given due recognition in the process of evaluation. Evaluation criteria also ensures that award wining enterprises have met their statutory obligations.

Awards are given for the various products and services subsectors under Gold, Silver and Bronze as well as merit categories based on the standard of their achievements. If applicants in a particular subsector do not reach the standard set, awards are not made for that particular product or service subsector.

The overall winner of a particular product or service subsector receives the subsector outstanding exporter Gold Award.

Special Gold Awards are given to the best Sri Lankan Brand Exporter as well as the Best Woman Exporter.

The most coveted award is the Gold Award won by the "Most Outstanding Exporter" of the year. The Runner-up receives the most outstanding exporter Silver Award.

The award for the most outstanding exporter has been won previously by export enterprises such as Dankotuwa Porcelain Limited, HVA Lanka Exports (Pvt.) Ltd, Standard Trading Company (Pvt.) Ltd., Stretchline (Private) Limited, Bodyline (Pvt.) Ltd., Ranfer International (Pvt.) Limited, Imperial Tea Exports (Pvt.) Ltd., Omega Line Limited and Loadstar (Pvt) Ltd.

The glamour and prestige achieved by this unique event would not have been possible with out the magnanimous contributions made by the sponsors of the event.

This years Sponsors are as follows;

MAIN SPONSOR

Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel

PRINCIPAL SPONSORS

" Asian Alliance Insurance PLC

" Bank of Ceylon

" Coats Thread Lanka (Pvt) Ltd

" Peoples Bank

" Sampath Bank

" Sri Lanka Tea Board

" DFCC Bank

" Event Productions (Pvt) Ltd

" Hilton Colombo

" International Foodstuff Company Agri Bio-Tech (Pvt) Ltd

" Omega Line Limited

" Oxley Threads Lanka (Pvt) Ltd

" Seylan Bank PLC

Overall organization of the event is carried out by the Project Director, Mr. Rasa Weerasingham, who is also the Executive Director of the Chamber. An Exports Awards Committee under the Chairmanship of Mr. L. S.G .Tillekeratne, Director-Member Services & New Projects carries out the planning and implementation of activities of the event.

Exporters, invitees and other participants at the event this year could look forward to a lasting experience.